Li Jingfei's cold profile was so intimidating that Ye Ying was slightly shocked.

This is supposed to be a joke, right?

...right?

He glanced at Li Jingfei, and after a while, he glanced at him again.

Li Jingfei noticed the boy's sneaky glance and finally smiled: "Just kidding."

Ye Ying retracted her gaze and replied calmly: "I know."

Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's still in time for the performance tonight." Li Jingfei said, "Please accompany me on a detour. I'll go home first."

Ye Ying was a little curious: "Are you from H City?"

"Um."

Ye Ying had no intention of asking about other people's private affairs, so she returned to silence after asking a question. After driving for another twenty minutes, the taxi finally arrived at the destination. Li Jingfei took out the equipment from the trunk and took Ye Ying through Fanxing East Road into an old alley, and then turned a few corners to a residential building. Ye Ying hesitated a little, thinking that it might not be a good idea to visit rashly: "Otherwise, I'll wait for you outside."

"It's okay." Li Jingfei stopped in front of a resident's door, "There are no elders at home."

Ye Ying was stunned for a moment, and just as she was trying to understand the meaning of this sentence, Li Jingfei had already rung the doorbell. The room was quiet for a while, and then a childish voice asked cautiously from inside the door: "Who is it?"

Li Jingfei: "Me."

The door opened quickly the next second, and a boy rushed over, shouting with joy: "Brother!"

Then, a little girl in the room cautiously poked her head out. When she saw Li Jingfei, her eyes lit up and she rushed out quickly and threw herself into Li Jingfei's arms.

"This is my younger brother, Li Chaosheng, and my younger sister, Li Wenlan." Li Jingfei said to the two children, "Call me brother."

The two children shouted obediently: "Hello, Brother Ye Ying."

Ye Ying was a little surprised: "Do you know my name?"

"We saw you on TV." Li Chaosheng said, "Brother sings very well, Wen Lan likes you very much."

Li Wenlan was very introverted. Seeing Ye Ying looking at her, she seemed a little embarrassed and hid behind Li Chaosheng with her hands behind her back.

"Thank you." Ye Ying smiled and said to Li Jingfei, "Your family names are all very good."

"My parents were both Chinese teachers," Li Jingfei said. "They died when I was in the third year of junior high school in a car accident."

Ye Ying opened her lips, but her throat suddenly became hoarse and she couldn't speak.

"It doesn't matter. It's been a long time." Li Jingfei didn't care. "Come in."

The house was not too big, but it was tidy and not messy at all. Seeing that the two children were not very old, Li Chaosheng was at most in junior high school, and Li Wenlan was only eight or nine years old, Ye Ying couldn't help asking, "Do they live by themselves during the time you're away on the show?"

"Yeah. Chao can cook, and the neighbors will help out if there's anything they need." Li Jingfei said, "They're also obedient."

As they were talking, Li Chaosheng had already poured water to make tea, and very familiarly asked Ye Ying to come sit on the sofa. Ye Ying took the teacup and thanked him, then watched Li Jingfei talking to his younger brother and sister, asking them if they had encountered any problems in the past few days and how their summer homework was going. The two children were obviously very close to their brother and trusted him very much, competing to answer his questions, and their attitude was extremely well-behaved.

Ye Ying was able to piece together the family structure. The parents died young, and the eldest brother supported his younger siblings. When the eldest brother was not at home, the second brother became the little pillar, responsible for taking care of the younger sister.

So did Li Jingfei participate in the talent show for his dream, or was he forced to make the same choice as herself? Ye Ying didn't know.

"At night, you must lock your doors and windows at home, and never open the door to people you don't know. If someone is repairing a pipe or conducting a community investigation, call Aunt Cui to confirm before opening the door. Remember that?"

Even though his brother had reminded him several times, Li Chaosheng still showed no impatience and nodded seriously: "Yes, I remember!"

"Yes. I have to leave in the evening. You guys stay at home and find Aunt Cui if you need anything. I will come back when I am free."

When the two children heard that their brother was leaving, they couldn't help showing disappointment on their faces, but they were very sensible and didn't ask to keep him. They knew that their brother was going to earn money to support their education and food.

Li Jingfei rubbed his brother and sister's heads: "What do you want to eat? I'll go cook."

Li Chaosheng looked at his sister. Li Wenlan thought for a moment and gave two concise and powerful words: "Hot pot."

The hot pot needed more ingredients, so Li Jingfei and Ye Ying went out again to a nearby supermarket to buy vegetables, meat, and dipping sauce for the hot pot. They brought back large and small bags, washed the vegetables, and put them in the pot.

There was no alcohol at home, and the three minors present were not allowed to drink, so Li Jingfei took out a few bottles of Sprite, and the four of them clinked glasses at the dinner table and had a warm hotpot meal.

After the meal, it was already past six o'clock. After sitting together and chatting for a while, the clock pointed to seven o'clock. Li Jingfei said to Li Chaosheng and Li Wenlan, "I'm leaving. Go to bed early tonight."

Ye Ying couldn't help but say, "It's still early, you can stay a little longer."

This performance is a special case, and it is unknown when Li Jingfei will come back next time.

Li Jingfei: "No need. Let's go."

Li Chaosheng and Li Wenlan sent them to the door: "Brother, Brother Yeying, you have to keep working hard. We watch every episode of the show, and Aunt Cui said she's watching it too!"

Li Wenlan asked softly, "Brother Ye Ying, can you give me an autograph next time you come?"

Ye Ying couldn't help but smile, bent down and touched the little girl's head: "Okay."

They took a taxi to leave the alley, and the old residential buildings with warm lights on were gradually left behind and then out of sight.

"After my parents got into trouble, I stopped going to school. I started doing odd jobs here and there, but I earned too little. Then an agency contacted me and said they would pay me a basic salary every month, so I went for it."

The sky had darkened, and the lights in the city gradually came on, reflecting on Li Jingfei's face through the car window. At this moment, he was not as cold as he remembered, nor as dazzling as he was on the stage, but just like any ordinary, mundane boy in the secular world.

At first, I was a trainee earning a basic salary, and later I looked for opportunities to go out for commercial performances. After four or five years, I finally saved some money, and I wasn't as penniless as I was in the beginning.

"I never thought about becoming an idol before. After all, it was hard to even make ends meet." Li Jingfei turned to look at Ye Ying, "But later I found that when I was overwhelmed, dancing became a refreshing and unbridled way to vent."

"It is no longer just a means of making a living, it has become an inseparable part of my life," Li Jingfei said. "Some problems do not require a choice between two options, nor do they require too much careful thinking."

“Sometimes it’s easier to find the answer by following your heart.”

It was already past eight in the evening when the taxi stopped outside Chunjiang Bridge. The night sky was starry, the evening breeze was blowing, and there were crowds of people on the bridge, leaning on the railings in groups of three or five, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Chunjiang River. Li Jingfei used to sing here often, and he skillfully set up the sound equipment. Tourists noticed that there was a handsome boy preparing to perform, and they gathered around curiously.

Li Jingfei set up the microphone, played the accompaniment on his mobile phone, and sang a song "Evening Breeze".

Unlike his previous sharp performances on the stage, Li Jingfei sang this song very gently. His deep voice slowly told a story, which reminded people of the setting sun sinking into the western hills, the evening breeze coming quietly on the clouds, and someone standing where the sky disappeared, looking back and showing a gentle smile to the person behind him.

The bustling crowd gradually quieted down, and the girls who were taking photos and videos with their mobile phones gradually forgot to focus. They closed their eyes and immersed themselves in the beautiful sounds, letting the cool evening breeze mess up their long hair.

When the song ended, the audience gave warm applause. One girl boldly asked, "Handsome boy, are you a celebrity who hasn't debuted yet? You sing so well!"

Some viewers have already recognized this boy and excitedly shook their companions' arms: "Li Jingfei! This is Li Jingfei! Oh my god, he is even more handsome in person than on TV!!"

The crowd was obviously getting agitated. Li Jingfei looked at Ye Ying and asked, "What song should we sing?"

The crowd followed his line of sight and discovered a boy in the dimly lit area. He was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, with jet-black hair. His eyebrows and eyes were so beautiful that they seemed unreal in the night sky of the spring river. His eyes were clear, warm and bright, like stars soaked in the river water.

"Ye Ying! Help, it's Ye Ying!!"

"Oh my god, what's the big day today?? Did the Dream Camp let them all out?!"

"I can walk on the Chunjiang Bridge tonight. I must have accumulated good fortune in my previous life!!"

Ye Ying smiled gently at the girls who were screaming and waving at him, walked to the microphone, picked up her phone and ordered a song.

A light-hearted little love song, "hello".